What Is the Impact of Coal on America’s Environment, History and Culture?

by Todd Mundt on April 7, 2011

Why do Americans contribute more heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere than Europeans with similar standards of living? One reason is our dependence on cars, but another, less-talked-about reason is coal. Americans rely on coal for nearly half our electricity. Electrical generation pumps out more greenhouse gases than the entire transportation sector — cars, trucks, planes, and ships — combined.